· Earnings lifted by one-off asset sales and lower tax
· Company still faces big problems at Nigerian wells
Terry Macalister
Friday May 4, 2007
Shell turned the screw on its struggling arch-rival BP yesterday when it reported a 14% rise in first-quarter net profits at $6.9bn (£3.47bn). It was higher than the City expected and a notable result compared with the 17% fall in earnings BP reported last week.
Shell’s profits were boosted by lower taxes and gains on one-off investment sales, as well as higher refining margins. These compensated for a 6.3% slump in core oil and gas production due to problems in Nigeria and slower sales due to the relatively warm winter.